Three independent fabric stores closing
 

This spring three fabric shops are closing within a 20 mile radius of where I live. Two say they are retiring and one said she needed to be home as a single mom. I wonder if the economy has anything to do with the closings?

two are retiring.
one wants to stay home with her children.

although i'm sure their customers will miss the shops, those are three lucky families who can afford to choose their preferred lifestyles. be happy for them. :)

These three quilt shops seem to have good reasons for closing, but often the quilt shops don't survive because they are not active with holding classes, online sales, and/or producing videos, and that seems to be what it takes for a quilt shop to survive well in today's world. There is just too much competition, especially online.

The many posts about where our forum members shop (online) exemplifies this. Online sales is where quilting is heading.
Sandy

I buy 99% of my fabric online. The prices are always so much better when you find sales. I just can't afford to pay exorbitant prices for fabric. Found a gorgeous fabric line yesterday, all hand dyed- over $40 a yard. Beautiful for those who can afford it-but this retired teacher cannot.

I shop on line also, but only because the nearest shop is over an hour away. I would much rather be able to touch and feel and see what I am buying. I think every quilt shop has an atmosphere of their own, and I just love that. I love looking at all the samples they have hanging. I investigate every nook and cranny.

I feel sorry for brick and mortar stores. There is a lot of overhead and the price competition from online stores is fierce. I do a lot of online shopping and one of the things I really like is the ability to find the fabrics I want at the best possible price.

But I do agree with an earlier comment about local stores having lots of activity and classes. That is a sure-fire draw and you know I'm not going to walk away without making other purchases. :D

It isn't just quilt shops. I think the economy has something to do with it of course. For pete's sake everything from food, gas, medical is going up up up. But internet sales have a lot to do with it too.

A quilt shop near here came up with a brilliant idea to bring in business, in my opinion. They started monthly "clubs." For instance, a Civil War one, a Crazy Quilt one, an Applique one, a Modern one. I go to the Piecing one. There are usually around 30 gals. We work out of the same book for the whole year. After Club, there's a beeline out to the shop because everyone gets inspired! Of course this probably works because the shop (in a smaller town) is located close to a larger city.

And I also wanted to say that I do shop online too. The LQS may carry a couple fabrics from a new line, but online there's the whole line of fabrics. Or they don't carry all colors of the solids that I like. So I shop both places.